1. Technical Field
The invention relates to analog circuits, systems and related signal processing. In particular, the invention relates to elements and processing used in synapses of biologically inspired neuromorphic circuits and systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Complex, real-time and near real-time processing and control applications are becoming more and more commonplace and important. Examples include, but are not limited to, real-time image processing, as well as processing data, from a large array of sensors (e.g., a focal plane array of optical sensors) that may involve simultaneous processing of multiple, parallel channels from the sensor array. Such real-time processing often presents significant design challenges including, but not limited to, providing implementations that have sufficient processing power and at the same time exhibit reasonable energy efficiency. Neuromorphic circuits and related circuit topologies may offer a solution to some of these significant obstacles associated with the design and implementation of real-time processing and control.
Neuromorphic circuits are electronic circuits that mimic the operation of cell populations within a nervous system and as such, may offer a number of advantages for robust signal processing in support of various real-time control and sensor processing applications. In particular, neuromorphic circuits may facilitate robust signal processing in a manner that mimics certain populations of neural cells including, but not limited to, populations of neural cells found in the brain of an animal, for example. As an animal's brain is generally adept at processing and interpreting a barrage of signals received from an animal's environment in a robust and energy efficient manner, so too are various neuromorphic circuits that mimic brain-like functions. Specifically, the neuromorphic circuit may perform various brain-like functions in a manner substantially similar to, or at least modeled on, its biological counterpart. However, the challenge remains to develop practical implementations of neuromorphic circuits and more particularly, low-power integrated circuit implementations thereof, that can be applied to real-time control and processing systems.